I’ve done a lot of public speaking in my career, especially in the past 6 years.
Effectively communicating in front of groups of people has been a great challenge for me, and I’ve really enjoyed the experience.
Here are my 10 best tips to consider before you make that big speech:
- Know Your Stuff - Every time I ever started speaking without being very confident in my knowledge of the material, I stumbled. Preparation is essential. Don’t take it on unless you know it like the back of your hand.
- Don’t be Overly Reliant on Notes – I do my prep before the speech, and typically go without any notes. If I have to, I’ll just put an outline on a piece of paper and use that. I’ve found it’s much more difficult to connect with an audience when you are having to refer to notes frequently.
- Stay Put – I learned a great lesson many years back when I believed I had to move around a lot to keep people’s attention. After one such speech when I was practically running back and forth, my feedback was overwhelmingly negative. They couldn’t focus on what I said.
- Make Eye Contact – Lock eyes with as many people as you can while you speak – it’s a sign of real engagement and sincerity. The wall or the floor is not your audience.
- Be Funny, But at Your Expense – I see a lot of advice out there about being funny, or at least telling a joke or two to break any tension. What has worked best for me was to make fun of myself – when you can tell a funny personal story it “humanizes” you right off the bat (a very good thing).
- Smile (a lot) - Always be self-aware when it comes to your facial expressions. Remember, your face is a billboard that frames your message. Be sure to put it in a bright light by smiling as much as you can.
- Think Slooooow Motion – Pacing of a speech is critical. The biggest mistake I see is folks just racing through the material, most likely trying to squeeze a 30 minute speech into 20 minutes. You must give your speech room to breathe, to let points sink in. It’s OK to pause every now and then. Try it sometimes – when done right, your audience will zero right into the next thing you say.
- Breathe – Nothing takes you back to the moment more quickly than simply focusing on your breath. I always like to take a nice deep breath right before I start talking, and before every transition. Zen baby, Zen!
- Don’t Overuse Your Hands – Your hand gestures can oftentimes be more of a distraction to an audience than a help. Here’s a trick – practice your speeches in front of a mirror as often as you can, and watch how you use your hands. Some use for emphasis is OK, but temper it.
- Do Something Surprising – My favorite “surprise” to an audience is breaking out into song. I know this can’t be done in every situation, but it’s just an example of the kind of thing that could make your speech more memorable. Perhaps you can pull out a prop, or play a video – something that puts a little “je ne sais quoi” into the presentation.
I hope this helps you to be an effective public speaker. I still have a ways to go myself, so I’m going to keep doing it until I get it right. And have a lot of fun in the process!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wonderful – absolutely wonderful! Hope I get to hear you speak sometime, Terry. I teach speaking skills and will share your tips.
Like the surprise idea- I will try that next time I have the chance.
Because I teach the skills I work very hard at my own ( I also teach coaching skills and I am a coach…see a pattern here?) and do practice in front of a mirror. I am also a member of a speakers club and my fellow members’ feedback on my last speech included a lot of comments on overuse of hands. I am focusing on moderating that now!
And standing still is still a challenge. A colleague said that he makes a mark with tape on the floor before his presentation and and that makes him stand still. But sometimes a bit of movement is necessary of course.
As someone that dreads speaking in front of people, I found these tips to be helpful and a few of them were things that I have done (and the rest are things I will need to try).
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing you speak Terry and I do believe you have learned how to apply these tips quite well.
One more tip for speakers…tell stories instead of facts.
These are good public speaking tips that can come from someone who is really experienced in public speaking.
Some of the tips like breathing, slowing down etc. can be so simple yet so effective. The fact that they are simple often leads many people to forget implementing them while giving a public speech.